The smell of tomatoes signals the annual opening of processing
season
That certain waft of tomato chunks and a billow of steam from
the San Benito Foods cannery should be commonplace for the next two
months around downtown Hollister.
The smell of tomatoes signals the annual opening of processing season
That certain waft of tomato chunks and a billow of steam from the San Benito Foods cannery should be commonplace for the next two months around downtown Hollister.
The last remaining cannery in the county recently opened another season that traditionally lasts 10 to 12 weeks with a continuous operation throughout.
During that time, San Benito Foods adds hundreds of seasonal jobs to the local economy, while city crews operate an industrial wastewater plant in the summer neighboring San Juan Hollister Road near the new sewer facility – designated just for the cannery. San Benito Foods reimburses Hollister for all the related expenses.
Community Services Director Clay Lee noted how the city does some maintenance in the canning off-season and keeps in continual contact with the company regarding its plans for the following summer.
“It’s a normal routine we go through every year when they get started up,” Lee said.
Lee said the shifting of duties for some city workers does not affect other services because, he said, “We kind of work it into our annual schedule.”
Though city officials do their part in maintaining the long-standing business, founded in the early 20th century, they also have their eyes on the future if and when San Benito Foods closes the plant by including an idea to redevelop the area in the current downtown strategy plan.
Recent revenue figures in the 2008 agriculture report show such a change might not occur anytime soon.
Tomato canning revenues in San Benito County rose from $3.4 million in 2007 to $4.65 million last year, according to the report. It does, however, show that production dropped from about 66,000 tons to about 57,000 tons in the same time frame.
